Govt gets leave to appeal against decision that Section 3 (3) of Sedition Act

PUTRAJAYA: The government has obtained leave from the Federal Court to appeal against a landmark ruling of the appellate court in declaring Section 3 (3) of the Sedition Act 1948 unconstitutional.
That section removes the requirement for the prosecution to prove the intention of a person charged with sedition.
A three-man panel of the Federal Court, led by Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, allowed the government's application after lawyer Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, representing Sri Muda assemblyman Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei, did not object to it.
The court accepted the three legal questions proposed by Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali for deliberation and determination of the Federal Court at the hearing of the appeal proper.
Apandi led a team of government lawyers to represent the government in the matter in the proceedings.
Among the questions are whether Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act contravenes Article 10 of the Federal Constitution and is invalid and has no effect in law.
In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal three-man bench led by Justice Datuk Lim Yee Lan, on Nov 25, last year, allowed Mat Shuhaimi's appeal and declared that Section 3(3) was invalid as it violated Article 10 of the Federal Constitution' which guaranteed Malaysians the right to freedom of speech and expression.
The Court of Appeal's ruling means the prosecution has to prove intent before a person can be convicted of sedition. — Bernama